Filament mounting apparatus



i 23, w. J. GEIGER ET AL 2,208,9

FILAMENT MOUNTING APPARATUS Filed July 29, 1938 Fig #4.

Inventors Walter J. Geiger; Reginald J. A res,

Their ,dztorneg.v

iii

Patented July 23, 1940 urrso sTA'r.

PATENT ()FFliCE FILAMENT MOUNTING APPARATUS Application July 29, 1938, Serial No. 221,964

8 (Ilaims.

Our invention relates to apparatus for mounting the filaments of electric lamps and other like devices, and more particularly to the automatic mounting of a filament in a definite relation to the lead wires of such a device.

According to'present practice, the filament is usually transferred automatically into'mounting relation with the leads of an incandescent lamp and there attached to said leads by welding the ends of the filament thereto or by pressing and embedding said ends into the leads or by forming hooks on the leads which are closed on the endsof the filament. In the manufacture of certain types of lamps, such as projection lamps, it is desirable that the filament be attached to the leads in predetermined relation thereto in order that the filament may have a definite relation to optical apparatus, such as the coiled filament to curl. Since the filament'is ing is preferably embodied in mountmaking often reshaped after transfer and mounting, it is also desirable to partly form and position the ends thereof at an angle to the leads at mounting to avoid sharp bends in said ends at the final forming thereof which reduce their resistance to shocks. I

An object of our invention is to provide relatively simple and efiicient apparatus for positioning the ends of the filament at a definite point along the leads and for locating said filament ends-singularly to the leads during the mounting of the filament. Other features and advantages of our invention will appear from the following description of a species thereof and from the ac companying drawing.

In the drawing, Fig-l is an elevation of a filament mounting apparatus embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1 of the clamping portion of the apparatus showing the jaws in their closed position; Fig. 3 is a side view of the coiled filament prior to mounting; Fig. 4 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a rear clamping jaw having positioning fingers thereon and showing the lamp mount prior to the fastening of the filament thereto; and Fig. 5 is an elevation, also on an enlarged scale, 'of the mount after the filament has been attached thereto and said mount and filament have been finally shaped.

The particular'apparatus shown in the drawapparatus of the type disclosed in Illingworth nt ,733,881, issued October 29, 1929, and is located at the filament mounting station of the heads which carry the lamp mount from one operation to another. The mount it, as shown in Fig. 1, is supported by the head it, and the filament i2, which is preferably coiled at a position adjacent said head ii, is carried into mount- 7 ing relation thereto by the transfer mechanism 63. The filament i2 is held by the jaws it and id of the transferring mechanism it which are attached to the arm it and are caused to grip said filament i2 by movement of the jaw it which is pivoted on the screw ill extending from said arm it. During the transferring movement of the mechanism it which carries the filament iii along the path indicated by dot-dash line it, the arm it turns about the axis of the shaft it which is supported by the bracket 2t, partially shown, and the movable jaw it is caused to grip said filament H by the contracting force of the spring 25 which is connected to said jaw it throhgh the lever 22 and the link it. The lever 22 is pivoted on the screw it extending from the arm iii.

The movement of the filament i2 and the transfer jaws it and l 5 carries them through the opening 25 (Fig. 2) in the clamping apparatus whereupon said clamping apparatus is placed in operation and the rear clamping jaw or anvil ti and positioning fingers 2t and 29 on the front face thereof (Fig. 4) are carried into operative relation to the mount it before said filament it comes into engagement therewith. This movement of the anvil El and positioning fingers 2t and it is brought about by a pivotal movement of the arm it, on which said anvil ill is mounted, about the pin iii in the standard 32 of the clamping apparatus and occurs when the rise portion of the cam 33 is turned into position behind said arm 36. The arm it is held against the cam 33 by the contracting force of the spring lid which is located in apertures in the arm lid and the standard 32 and which extends between pins engaging said arm 38 and standard 33 is mounted on the shaft 35 which is supported by the standard 32 and which is turned by another portion of the clamping apparatus connected thereto through the levers 3t and Si and the link 38. Levers B6 and El are attached to shafts 35 and 3% respectively.

The filament H2, inthis instance as shown in Fig. 3, is comprised of a center coiled section and and sections slightly curled and not necessarily aligned with the coiled section and is moved along The cam Bill line It (Fig. 1) until the ends thereof are carried into engagement with the separated leads it and 4! of the mount it at a point just below the fingers 28 and 29. An upward movement of the entire transfer mechanism i3 now takes place and the ends of the filament l2 are carried into engagement with the fingers 2d and 29. This latter movement of the transfer mechanism is produced by means (not shown) engagingthe bracket 20. The fingers 28 and 29 are located at opposite sides of the mount it and adjacent the leads 4'0 and ii and engage the ends of the filament I2 while the midportion thereof is carried to a position above said fingers 2E] and 2d. Both the mount i0 andhead ii have a definite relation to each other so that the fingers 2B and 29 also take a definite relation to the leads 6d and 4|. The movement of the center portion of the filament l2 upwardly beyond the fingers 28, 2d, causes it to be bent upward and the ends thereof to change their angular relation to the leads 40 and 4! so that said filament i2 is partially formed into the inverted U-shape shown in Fig. 5 and desired in the finished article. This means of positioning the ends of the filament i2 has two desirable advantages in that it definitely locates the ends of said filament i2 even though said ends were originally curled or out of align-- ment with the coiled portion thereof, and it places the said ends at an angle to the leads 4i] and it so that they do not have to be as sharply bent when he filament i2 is finally shaped.

The ends of the filament H are attached't'o the leads 40 and 4|, in this instance, by the'front clamping jaw comprising anvils 42 and 43 which are mounted on the lever 44 and are moved thereby toward the anvil 2? so that said leads and the filament ends are squeezed between said anviis 42, 43 and anvil 271. In this manner the ends of the filament i2 are pressed into saidleads tit and 4!.

The lever H is mounted on the shaft 39 which indirectly causes the anvil 2i and the positioning fingers 28 and 29 to move in and out of position and is operated in proper time relation to the movements of the transferring mechanism It and the movements of the head it of the mount mahing machine by the customary cam operated mechanism (in this instance not'shown) connected thereto through the link 55. The opening 25 between the anvils 42 and 43 and the groove 46 in the anvil 2'! provides clearance for the transfer jaws i4 and i5. In the instance shown, lead 40 extends upward beyond the filament 12' and is located adjacent the finger 47 on thelever 44 and the recess 48 in anvil 21 as the pressing operation occurs. This extended portion of the lead Mi, which bears a definite relation to the mount it and assists in locating said mount in the lamp bulb, is prevented from moving forward out of position by the finger 41. The recess 48 provides clearance for the upper portion of the lead 40.

The anvils 21, 42 and 43 are moved back away from the leads 4!! and 6!, and the transfer jaw it is moved to the open position, before the mount l0 and head H are removed from the mounting position. The movement of the jaw I5 is brought about by a rotation of the shaft is relatively to the arm Id which. carries the rise portion of cam 49 into engagementwith the roller 56 on the end of lever 22 and is followed by the movement of .theentire transferring apparatus to the filament pick-up position after the mount it isremoved from the mounting position. Although the fila ment I2 is attached to the leads 4!! and M by Geiger et al.

pressing portions of said filament 62 therein, the apparatus can also be used to close preformed hooks in said leads t6 and ti onto said filament i2 and, if a suitable source of welding current is supplied, to weld said filament ii to said leads 4t I and ti. In the instance shown, the filament it is finally formed and the lead it is finally positioned after'heing removed from the mounting position by the bending of the leads 4B and 49 toward each other.. The filament I2 is then located a definite predetermined distance from the end it) of the lead id which engages a definiteportion of the bulb in which the mount is sealed to correctly locate the filament in. accordance with the disclosure of Patent 1,983,362, W. J. After the bending of the leads 6d and ii, the mount appears as in Fig. 5 which shows the bend that is made in the ends of the filament 82 when said filament I2 is mounted according to our invention. It is undesirable to bend the ends of the filament it more than shown, as was formerly required when the filament i2 was mounted straight across with its ends perpendicular to a pair of parallel leads.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

i. In apparatvs of the class described, the combination of means for supporting a lamp mount .having leads extending therefrom in a definite direction, spaced opposed positioning fingers definitely located with respect to said support means so that each finger will be adjacent one of said leads, transfer mechanism for engaging a filament intermediate its ends and moving it into position adjacent to said mount so that the ends of said filament engage the leads and the said positioning fingers whereby said filament ends are definitely positioned along the leads, and means for securing the ends of the filament to said leads at said position while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means for supporting a lamp mount having leads extending therefrom in a definite direction, spaced opposed positioning fingers definitely located with respect to said support means so that each finger will be adjacent one of said leads, transfer mechanism for engaging a filament intermediate its ends and moving it into position adjacent to said mount so that the ends of said'filament engage the leads and the said positioning fingers whereby said filament ends are definitely positioned along the leads, and means for pressing the ends of the filament into said leads at said position to cause them to be secured thereto while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of movable means for supporting at a mounting position a lamp mount having leads extending therefrom in a definite direction, spaced opposed positioning fingers located adjacent the said mounting position and movable in and out of a definite relation to said support means and the leads of the mount located at said mounting position so that each finger may be positioned adjacent one of said leads, transfer mechanism for engaging a filament intermediate its ends and moving it into position adjacent to said mount to cause the ends of said filament to engage the leads and the positioning fingers at said position whereby said filament ends are definitely positioned along the leads, and means also at said mounting position for securing the ends of the filament to said leads while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

4., In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means for supporting a lamp mount having a pair of leads extending therefrom in a definite direction, a pair of spaced opposed positioning fingers definitely located with respect to.

said support means and at opposite sides of the leads of a mount therein, transfer mechanism for engaging a filament intermediate its ends and moving it to a position between said fingers and in the plane passing through said leads to cause the ends of said filament to engage the leads and the said fingers, said transfer mechanism being arranged to further move the midportion of said filament in the said plane passing through the leads to arch it and cause the ends thereof rebination of movable means for supporting at a,

mounting position a lamp mount having leads extending therefrom in a definite direction, an anvil located adjacent the said mounting position and movable in and out of operative relation to a portion of the leads of a mount located at said mounting position, spaced opposed positioning fingers mounted on said anvil and arranged to take a definite position with relation to said supporting means and said portions of the leads of said mount so that each finger will be adjacent one of said leads, transfer mechanism for engaginga filament intermediate its ends and moving it into position adjacent to said mount to cause the ends of said filament to engage said positioning fingers and said portions of the leads so that said filament ends are'definitely positioned, and at least one other anvil located adjacentthe said mounting position and arranged to move toward the first anvil to press the ends of the filament into the adjacent portions of the leads to attach them together while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of movable means for supporting at a mounting-position a lamp mounthaving a pair of leads extending therefrom in a definite direction,

a pair of spaced opposed positioning fingers located adjacent the said mounting position and movable in and out of a definite relation to said support means to be on opposite sides of the leads of a mount therein, transfer mechanism for engaging a filament intermediate its ends and moving it to a position between said fingers and in the plane passing through said leads to cause the ends of said filament to engage the said leads and fingers, said transfer mechanism being arranged to further move the filament in the said plane passing through the leads to arch it and cause the ends thereof retained by said fingers to be definitely positioned along said leads and angu- -larly thereto, and means for pressing the ends of the filament into said leads at said position to cause them to be secured thereto while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

7. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means for supporting in a vertical position a lamp mount having a pair of leads extending upwardly in a definite direction, an upstanding rear clamping jaw located behind a mount in said support means, a pair of spaced laterally opposedpositioning fingers mounted onthe front face of said rear clamping jaw in definite relation to said mount supporting means and on opposite sides of the leads of a mount therein, transfer mechanism in front of said 'mount supporting means for gripping a filament at its middle and moving it to a position between said fingers and in the vertical plane passing through said leads to cause the ends of said filament to be brought under the ends of said fingers and in engagement with said leads, said transfermeans being arranged tothen move upward to arch the filament and cause the ends thereof retained under said fingers to be held across the leads at an angle to the horizontal, and a front clamping jaw arranged to be closed against said rear clamping jaw to clamp the leads and the ends of the filament therebetween to secure them together while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers.

8. In apparatus of the class described, the combina'tion of means for supporting in a substantially vertical position a lamp mount having a pair of leads extending upwardly in a definite direction, a standard located adjacent said mount opposed positioning fingers mounted on the front face of said rear clamping jaw, transfer mechanism in front of said mount supporting means arranged togrip a filament-atits middle and move it through an opening in said front clamping jaw toward the mount in said supporting means, means for moving said rear clamping jaw up to the said mount with the positioning fingers thereon on opposite sides of said mount closely adjacent its leads, the'said filament being carried by said transfer mechanism to a position between said fingers with its ends under the ends of said fingers and in engagement with said leads, said transfer mechanism being arranged to then move upward to arch the filament and cause the ends thereof retained under said fingers to be held across the leads at an angle to the horizontal, said front clamping jaw being arranged to then close against said rear clamping jaw to clamp the contacting portions of said leads and filamenttherebetween to secure them together while said filament is held by said transfer mechanism in engagement with said leads and positioning fingers. 65

WALTER J. GEIGER. REGINALD J. AYRES. 

